PREPAREDNESS

^[p. 502] PREPAREDNESS

Mark 14:12 - 26; 2 Corinthians 9:1 - 7; Revelation 19:7,8; Revelation 8:6

The subject to come before us is preparedness — a thought that is prominent throughout Scripture. The idea of preparation indeed began with God, and extends back to the beginning of His operations, and further back, for His operations were the outcome of His counsels. We find that wisdom was there, as God began to prepare. She says, “When he prepared the heavens I was there” (Proverbs 8:27); and it proceeds to speak of other preparations of God to stress that it was there, that they were all done in wisdom. Referring back thus far we have to conclude that the prominent thought was God preparing in view of the working out of the counsels of His love. So in Genesis 1 we have a resumption of God’s preparations; some evil damage having taken place in what He had done. He begins over again to prepare. Genesis 1 shows the deliberation with which He undertook the great work; the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the deep, that is, there was feeling as to it; “And God said. Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). One day after another brought out what was in His mind in the way of preparation, and we see in chapter 2 how, as man was formed, there was further preparation — the garden, involving skill, taste, thoughtfulness; and Adam being in mind, the intelligence that was in him to work out, as it did So that God worked deliberately, thoughtfully, and with feeling, too, forming a link at once with His great creature, for Jehovah appears in chapter 2, as man is in mind.

The thought runs through, specially in the touching words of our Lord Jesus recorded in John 14. The section begins, “Jesus ... having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end”,(John 13:1) and the ^[p. 503] whole of it, that is chapters 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17, is to be read in the light of those touching words. He assures His feeble disciples, saying, “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1). A troubled heart prevents the working out of divine thoughts, and the Lord had in His mind to unfold divine thoughts at that time, as indeed always — at all these meetings the point is the unfolding of the mind of God — and He would induce a suitable receptive state, an untroubled heart, amongst those present. “Let not your heart be troubled”. He says, “ye believe on God” (John 14:1) — they had gone that far. He had induced that in them, faith in God; He had indeed said to them, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22).

It is a great point as to our general position here below that everything comes under God. Many things arise daily to trouble our hearts, international matters, business matters, matters in connection with our professions, illness, and so forth, all tending to rob the Lord of material He wishes to use to work out the divine thought. So He says, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe on God, believe also on me” (John 14:1). Not that that “also” robs Him of His deity; no, dear brethren, far otherwise. He is dealing with the mediatorial position, what we may call the economy into which He has come, and God remains God; the Lord had come into a mediatorial place, but yet retained His own personal dignity. One to be believed on, too — “believe also on me” (John 14:1). Then the Lord goes on to say, “In my Father’s house are many mansions ... I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). Well, that is the point in this section. He is dealing with those who were to form the assembly, as He is now, for His service goes on. He says, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). It would take too much time to unfold what that means, even if I could unfold it. I only touch on it to show that the principle of divine preparation runs on, and “for you”, as the Lord says — “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2); the saints were in His heart unalterably at that time,

^[p. 504] indeed ever; during this whole period of centuries it is said of Christ, “he ever liveth to make intercession for them”, (Hebrews 7:25).

I have said so much as to the divine side, so as to show that all these matters emanate from God, He leads in everything. There is that which is not of God, and the world is full of what is not of God, and John’s ministry is largely to help us that we might understand what is not of God and what is of God. What is not of God has to go as sin, what is of God is to remain, and preparation is of God, the idea is of God.

I proceed now with what I have particularly before me, that is, to speak of preparedness on our part as introductory in view of assembly service. I have selected Mark’s account because it suits what I have in mind better than the others. The disciples had the thought of preparedness; Luke tells us that the Lord had the thought of preparedness in view of the passover, ultimately in view of His supper. It is a word that governs the Lord’s supper perhaps more than anything else, and brings in the part the Lord has in the initial stage of the service of God in the assembly. In Mark His disciples inquired from Him as to this matter. We do well to join in this inquiry from the Lord, for it is a question of getting to the Lord, dear brethren, in view of the present confusion, the darkness that can be felt, as to these matters, in Christendom. It is an urgent matter for each one, all of us in our gatherings, to get to the Lord about it. Much has been said by this and that one, and we can thank God for the consensus of ministry on this point, but still, we are to prove all things, particularly in regard to this matter of assembly service. We are all apt to say things without much thought and particularly if it seems new, but new things are not always true, so that as to what came even from the lips of an apostle. Scripture speaks approvingly of those who searched the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so (Acts 17:11). One would have been ^[p. 505] very interested in the assembly at Berea because of that very point; what brothers they must have been! They searched the Scriptures daily to be assured that what was being said was true. We may be sure that they would ask the Lord at the same time. We never reach a safe conclusion without asking the Lord; assurance comes in that way. We are told to consider things, to consider what is said, and “the Lord will give thee understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:7) — that is the true safeguard.

The Lord says here, “Go into the city” — an expression that also has a great place in Scripture. The great minister of the assembly, when he was converted, was told to go into the city to be told what he should do. And the Lord sends the two disciples into the city. He says, “Go into the city, and a man shall meet you carrying a pitcher of water”. Carrying is a levitical thought, one great feature of levitical service is to carry things. It is not simply that the man had the pitcher of water, but he carried it. And what enters into the mind at this point is that the Lord brings in the objective idea. He diverts us from ourselves, for in regard to these matters, we have to learn, as I might say, objectively. Many are prone to look in on themselves in regard to the things of God, especially the breaking of bread, and think things are not just right or fit. It is right to examine ourselves, but not to be self-occupied, and for this we must turn our eyes out on another — here a man carrying a pitcher of water. He has a burden — spiritually something of great value, that is the idea. Why is he carrying this burden? I suppose we may see a full example of this in the apostle Paul’s ministry at any time as he moved in his wide field, he was carrying things; he was a man who bore burdens — always carrying a pitcher of water. The supreme example of this burden-bearing is Christ Himself, I need not say. As to everything, the great objective thought is seen in Him. What goes on in us is according to this. As we ^[p. 506] are looking at Him, the work of God proceeds in us; our eyes are on the objective thought, what is presented to us of God objectively.

The Lord says, “Follow him” — that is another thing — and enter where he enters. What could be more interesting, than to follow those disciples into Jerusalem, into the city, and to see how their eyes would be on the alert for this man! How interesting it is to heaven to follow our movements in this respect, for it is a spiritual matter! Heaven knows what is proceeding in our hearts as we look out for this man; it is under the direction of the Lord, you will notice, so that we are on safe ground, but be sure he is carrying the pitcher of water, for that is the point of identification. There is no reference to his physical appearance, type, or the manner of his walk; it is a matter of obedience, of following the Lord’s directions, what is absolutely essential to this service, in the initial stages of it particularly. John shows how water thus carried is used; the Lord used what was there, we may assume it was in the same upper room, in order that the saints should have part with Him.

Well, the disciples do exactly as the Lord told them to do — a very fine thought for the young people here, do exactly as is prescribed by the Lord. There is the matter of preparation, and every believer ought to have indelibly in his heart the idea of preparation for the Lord; and they did exactly what the Lord told them and they found the house, and they said to the good-man, “The Teacher says. Where is my guest-chamber where I may eat the passover with my disciples?” The disciples had rightly said, “Where wilt thou that we go and prepare, that thou mayest eat the passover?” — because they were thinking of the Lord; but He was thinking of them. He never forgets us. The surest way, I believe, to be made conscious of the Lord’s thoughtfulness and provision is to think of and for Him. He demands that indeed. Elijah says to the woman of Sarepta, “Make me thereof a little cake first”, (1 Kings 17:13). That is the secret of this position, that the Lord has the first place, then you come into great things. So here He came then with the twelve; it is a great occasion.

So that we may see what the preparation means, the passage says, “as they lay at table and were eating” — this is an eating scene, Mark presents that side. Mark says nothing about the memorial in the Lord’s supper, but refers to the eating of it, that is, the Lord is providing for us; if we have Him in our minds and would have things right for Him, He supports us so that that may go on; there is food. Moreover, the need of food is important if there is to be any heart-searching, and that is one of the things that comes in in the initial stages of divine services, because the word is, “Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart?” (2 Kings 10:15). That is, as it were, what the Lord would say, as Jehu said to Jehonadab in 2 Kings 10:15. The Lord here says, “One of you ...” It was as they were eating. He considers them, for if He is to get results, there must be food, and that always applies; in cases of restoration, or in dealing with sin, it is important that there should be food. And hence, “One of you ...” and then, “Is it I?” He is dealing here with sin in someone — and the need of that is frequent, alas! I only refer to it so that ample room may be made for the Lord in such matters. We must not restrict Him in ourselves, because His operations in the assembly are all in the minds and hearts of the saints; what the Lord is doing He is doing there, what the Spirit is doing. He is doing there; and we effectually limit all this if our minds are wrong, if we have wrong thoughts. So the Lord leads in this matter and makes it plain, without being too personal, where the betrayer is. It is an important matter to have things disclosed, so that we understand. You may say, ‘This is not an assembly meeting’. It is the light that governs the precincts of it, as I may say. It is important ^[p. 508] to understand the precincts, for in approaching God in the tabernacle or the temple, the precincts had to be considered, and any adjustment had to be made there. The washing took place in the court.

So here the evil one is disclosed, and then the Lord goes on to what He had in mind; the preparation was there, the room was also there, furnished and prepared. All that refers now to the state of our souls in view of the assembly, on those lines we become ready. I mean, the furnishing here refers really to the state of the saints. The Master says that it is His guest-chamber — “Where is my guest-chamber?” It is a question of His rights in our hearts and whether things are suitable to Him there. So that, as the right state is there, although there may be one person out of accord, the general position is clear, and the Lord proceeds to do what He had in mind. It was the passover, but the Lord’s supper was in prospect; that is to say, love proceeding beyond anything that ever had entered into the passover feast before. It was love going on to the best, that is the testimony to Christ’s love, “Take this; this is my body”. And the cup too, “This is my blood, that of the new covenant, that shed for many”. “And they all drank out of it”, the passage says. The Lord had dealt with whatever evil there was; whatever needed to be adjusted, He adjusted it; and now He proceeds with what is uppermost in His heart, for it is a question of the disciples, of His own, and He opens up to them the thought of the new covenant, and leads up to a mutual state of things.

I want you to take that in, dear brethren — a happy mutual state of things ensued from the Lord’s ministry amongst them, what He said and did. “They all drank out of it”. He does not tell them here to do it. He does in Matthew, but here they do it, they are moving on in their souls. You see how perfect the Lord’s work is, and how under His direction the disciples do what is needed, and then there is progress. As they all drank ^[p. 509] out of the cup, the Lord told them what it really was — “This is my blood, that of the new covenant”. I suppose the expression never had such force from Jeremiah’s day down to that time, as it had to them; in the Lord’s blessed lips at that time what a force and power there would be in it! The apostles were ready for it obviously; they all drank out of it, and then they sang a hymn and they went to the mount of Olives. You see thus the progress; the spiritual movement, I may say, arising from the idea of preparation. God is praised; we can understand the hymn — it is to God. And then the upward movement.

Now I pass on from that to show how this procedure culminates, as it occurs week after week. The Lord intended it should occur constantly during His absence. Alas! during a great gap in the assembly’s history it was shut out. What the Lord lost in all that, in those centuries in which He was denied the desires of His heart! And what was the secret? Unpreparedness there was no idea of preparedness for Christ in the great system that grew up in Christendom. The teachings of the Nicolaitanes, of Balaam, of Jezebel, all deprive the Lord, rob Him of His rights; for His supper is a question of His rights. Yet He has come back to it, the Lord has rescued His supper from the unhallowed surroundings it had got into, and set it down in the midst of those who love Him, where it belongs; characteristically it belongs to the assembly, and to no other circle. He has revived it in view, among other things, of this preparedness of the Lamb’s wife.

The celebration in Revelation 19 is a very great one; after the destruction of the false thing, Babylon, in chapter 18, the celebration in heaven is wonderful, and it works out to this, “the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready”. It is what the saints do in relation to Christ in view of the great occasion that is now imminent, thank God — the marriage of the Lamb: she has made herself ready. “And ^[p. 510] to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints”. I mention that to show you how the idea of preparedness runs through, and should find a place with us individually, but I am speaking particularly of what is collective, so that the Lord should have His place amongst us, that scope should be given Him, that He should perform what He sees is needed. Let Him have scope, let us learn how to be restful, till there is a touch from Him. This enters into the thought of the wife, it is a question of loyalty to Christ and His rights, subjection to Christ, too — she has made herself ready; it is a process that is going on now; all these meetings are to that end, that the brethren should understand the need for readiness, for preparedness, in view of the great matter, the marriage of the Lamb, which is now near.

Then I want to add to all that, something from 2 Corinthians. The chapter read deals with the question of giving, but I am not speaking of that by itself; what I am speaking about is this matter of preparedness, for without the preparedness for giving, the giving is nothing. What does God care about dollars or pounds? He cares nothing about them in themselves. A man might dole out, we are told, all his goods for the poor, without love, and what does God care about that? — he is nothing, that is what Scripture says, I am speaking of this matter of preparedness. The apostle is stressing in these two chapters — 8 and 9 — that it is a question of the giver, the gift, of course, from such a giver, but the point is the giver, whether he is prepared, whether I am prepared to use the box, as we speak of it, or to give in any sense. I have to be prepared for that as much as to propose a hymn to be sung or to give thanks to God. It is a spiritual matter. God is dealing with persons. The mere material thing by itself is nothing to God; the cattle on a thousand hills are His.

^[p. 511] God is thinking of the persons who give and of those who serve Him. He is seeking worshippers who worship in the true sense, and givers who give in the true sense. Paul speaks to the Corinthians in chapter 8 about the Macedonians; he had a way of bringing forward the work of God in other saints to stimulate those he is dealing with, and here he speaks about the Macedonians. This they did, he says, “not according as we hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord, and to us by God’s will” (2 Corinthians 8:5). “By God’s will” — how entirely under God they were in this! These chapters would help us as to whatever we have to give, little or much, that it should be in the spirit of divine giving. “God loveth a cheerful giver”, not his gift exactly, but the person, it is a question of his state, the spirit and manner of his giving. And so the apostle stresses that the Macedonians were ready; he tells the Corinthians how ready they were, and now he tells the Corinthians, according to these verses, that he had boasted of them to others also. He had a remarkable way of using the work of God in one place to stimulate it in another place. Why not? It is one thing. He says, ‘I have boasted of you, that you were ready a year ago’. How remarkable this is! He kept it in mind that they were ready in this matter a year before. How extended the thing was! But the exercise, the preparation, was all pleasing to heaven. The apostle was labouring to prepare the saints for this matter of giving. Of course he laboured to prepare them for other matters, the Lord’s supper was a great thing with him, but he says now, “On the first of the week let each of you put by at home, laying up in whatever degree he may have prospered, that there may be no collections when I come” (1 Corinthians 16:2). He said, as it were, I want you to do it of your own selves so that it is your doing, not for my eyes or ears, but for God, and do it on the first day of the week — if a day will affect you, that ought to. And do it at home he is not dealing with the collection for local needs, but to ^[p. 512] meet need elsewhere, affording an opportunity for giving as expressed in God: He is the great Giver. The apostle says, “Thanks be to God for his unspeakable free gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

God is bringing us round to this, and what can be greater? So he reminds the Corinthians that he had boasted about them that they were prepared a year before; but he was afraid there had been a lapse; and there often is — there are those who decide to give, but they change their minds. How sorrowful that is! The apostle was afraid of that, and he does not want to be ashamed. Of course they should be ashamed, but he says, ‘I am so identified with you that if you have cause to be ashamed, I am ashamed’. He had a peculiar way of telling everybody about the Corinthians, so he says, I shall be ashamed that you are not ready. He says, “I thought it necessary therefore to beg the brethren that they would come to you, and complete beforehand your fore-announced blessing, that this may be ready thus as blessing, and not as got out of you. But this is true, he that sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that sows in the spirit of blessing shall reap also in blessing: each according as he is purposed in his heart; not grievingly, or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver”. It is the state of a man, that he is becoming like God, and has purposed in his heart on those lines. This is going to be a matter of the glory of Christ, that is what the apostle has in mind. He says, I am ready to serve in it with others who are Christ’s glory, ministers of the assembly, but it is a question, not of what they carried, but of what it represents, the preparedness of the brethren in this great matter. So you will understand I am not speaking of the material thing in itself, but of what the saints are, which is a great thing. So putting into the box requires preparedness as in the affections; it is a question of what I am, so the apostle says earlier that a man is ^[p. 513] accepted according to what he has — whatever it be, it is the man that is accepted.

There is one thought left; it is in the verse read in Revelation 8. And now, dear brethren, I want to say a word to those who are serving in a special way. Of course all the saints are to serve, but a word now is needed in regard to those of us who serve in a specific way, as to the importance of preparation — not of the subject-matter, but of the persons who serve. So the word here is, “the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves that they might sound with their trumpets”. “Prepared themselves” — notice that. Now you see that, in all these cases, it is mainly a question of the persons and what God has in the persons. If God has not something in what I am doing now, what is it? You may say. ‘It may help others’; but God must have something in it; He is thinking of the persons in their service. It is not to prepare the subject but to prepare myself — that is the word. The seven angels had the ability — I mean the trumpets, which I suppose I might say represent gift — and power to sound; but that is not enough. No doubt they could make the sound of the trumpet; the apostle deals with that in speaking of ministry in 1 Corinthians 14; there must be distinct sounds; it is not simply that I have a trumpet that can be used, but the person using it is to be suitable. It says, the seven angels prepared themselves that they might sound the trumpets. The gift one may have is not all. In Ephesians the man himself is the gift, but in Corinthians it is power given from God to be used in service.

So, dear brethren, God, I believe, has in mind that in assembly service, domestic service, business service, in walking on the street, in riding in the train or in motor cars, we are to be pleasing to Him. God is to have pleasure in us all the time; but particularly in our preparation for service. A brother humbly gets to the Lord — according to Proverbs we are to watch at His ^[p. 514] gates, at the posts of His doors — well. He is pleased with that. The Lord takes notice of the humility of our minds; what we are in regard to what is before us. As one says, ‘Lord, Thou knowest I cannot do anything of myself; although I may have ability to speak, I must get what is spoken from Thee’, well, the Lord is pleased with that and He will not fail such a one in the service in view. The history that is going on in heaven all the time in regard of such matters is but little thought of by us, but it should be on our minds.

So you will readily see that the idea of preparation enters into the things of which I have spoken. It is a question of what is needed in every case, so that we might be equal to each service and that God has His part in it. The vessel is to be dignified by the anointing, so that something might be said by those who hear, as was said of the Lord Jesus: they “wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth” (Luke 4:22). “The eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him” (Luke 4:20) — it was a question of the Person, of the Minister, what He was. The words were beautiful, but the Person was attractive; He was there in all His grace as the Minister on that occasion.